Peripheral infusion of rat bone marrow derived endothelial progenitor cells leads to homing in acute lung injury

Background

Bone marrow-derived progenitors for both epithelial and endothelial cells have been observed in the lung. Besides mature endothelial cells (EC) that compose the adult vasculature, endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) are supposed to be released from the bone marrow into the peripheral blood after stimulation by distinct inflammatory injuries. Homing of ex vivo generated bone marrow-derived EPC into the injured lung has not been investigated so far. We therefore tested the hypothesis whether homing of EPC in damaged lung tissue occurs after intravenous administration.

Methods

Ex vivo generated, characterized and cultivated rat bone marrow-derived EPC were investigated for proliferation and vasculogenic properties in vitro. EPC were tested for their homing in a left-sided rat lung transplant model mimicking a severe acute lung injury. EPC were transplanted into the host animal by peripheral administration into the femoral vein (10⁶ cells). Rats were sacrificed 1, 4 or 9 days after lung transplantation and homing of EPC was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy. EPC were tested further for their involvement in vasculogenesis processes occurring in subcutaneously applied Matrigel in transplanted animals.

Results

We demonstrate the integration of intravenously injected EPC into the tissue of the transplanted left lung suffering from acute lung injury. EPC were localized in vessel walls as well as in destructed lung tissue. Virtually no cells were found in the right lung or in other organs. However, few EPC were found in subcutaneous Matrigel in transplanted rats.

Conclusion

Transplanted EPC may play an important role in reestablishing the endothelial integrity in vessels after severe injury or at inflamatory sites and might further contribute to vascular repair or wound healing processes in severely damaged tissue. Therapeutic applications of EPC transplantation may ensue.     

Implementing Evidence-Based Programs: Lessons Learned From the Field

Evidence-based programs (EBPs) are used in many health promotion efforts to ensure that the intended positive behavioral and health outcomes will be achieved. However, because EBPs are developed and tested in research settings, the contextual elements of real world implementation play an important role in their successful delivery in communities. As an intermediary charged with supporting the translation of research to practice for a statewide teen pregnancy prevention initiative, the ACT for Youth Center of Excellence conducted a mid-course evaluation to identify factors that contribute to the successful implementation of EBPs. The findings indicate that successful implementation involves systematic planning that addresses three critical contextual factors: community readiness, organizational capacity, and setting characteristics. By attending both to factors identified from local practice, and to theory and evidence identified through implementation science, practitioners can strengthen programming and enhance the quality of EBP delivery.     

Latest news about the sulfurtransferase protein family of higher plants

Sulfurtransferases/rhodaneses (Str) comprise a group of enzymes widely distributed in all phyla which catalyze in vitro the transfer of a sulfur atom from suitable sulfur donors to nucleophilic sulfur acceptors. The best characterized Str is bovine rhodanese (EC 2.8.1.1) which catalyses in vitro the transfer of a sulfane sulfur atom from thiosulfate to cyanide, leading to the formation of sulfite and thiocyanate. Plants as well as other organisms contain many proteins carrying a typical rhodanese pattern or domain forming multi-protein families (MPF). Despite the presence of Str activities in many living organisms, the physiological role of the members of this MPF has not been established unambiguously. While in mammals these proteins are involved in the elimination of toxic cyanogenic compounds, their ubiquity suggests additional physiological functions. In plants, Str are localized in the cytoplasm, mitochondria, plastids, and nucleus. Str probably also transfer reduced sulfur onto substrates as large as peptides or proteins. Several studies in different organisms demonstrate a protein–protein interaction with members of the thioredoxin MPF indicating a role of Str in maintenance of the cellular redox homeostasis. The increased expression of several members of the Str MPF in various stress conditions could be a response to oxidative stress. In summary, data indicate that Str are involved in various essential metabolic reactions.     

A comparative study into the chemical constitution of cutins and suberins from Picea abies (L.) Karst., Quercus robur L., and Fagus sylvatica L.

The compositions of BF₃/CH₃OH depolymerisates of cutins and suberins from leaf and periderm samples from Picea abies [L.] Karst., Quercus robur L., and Fagus sylvatica L., respectively, were determined by quantitative capillary gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. Long-chain monobasic, -hydroxymonobasic, dihydroxymonobasic, trihydroxymonobasic and epoxyhydroxymonobasic alkanoic acids constituted the major aliphatic monomers of leaf cutins. The total amounts of cutin monomers ranged from 629 mg · m^–2 (Fagus) to 1350 mg · m^–2 (Quercus). Cutin composition and amounts did not significantly differ between current year and three-year-old needles of Picea. Trans-esterification of periderm samples yielded a much greater variety of aliphatic monomers than obtained from cutins. In addition to the substance classes found with cutins, suberin depolymerisates also contained , -dibasic acids while dihydroxymonobasic acids were lacking. Depolymerisates from periderms taken from different locations on a Picea tree did not differ significantly in their relative composition. The results are discussed in terms of the distinctive characteristics of the aliphatic portions of cutins and suberins, respectively. Discriminant analysis is applied for formulating a quantitative and inarbitrary classification rule for cutins and suberins. The precision, statistical significance and robustness of this classification rule are tested by employing it to a large set of compositional data (70 plant species) from the literature. The relevance of data obtained by depolymerization methods for elucidating the physical structure of cutins and suberins in situ is evaluated.To whom correspondence should be addressedThe authors are indebted to Drs. J. Winkler and H. Krause (Laboratorium für Strukturchemie des Fachbereichs Chemie, Biologie und Geowissenschaften, Technische Universität München, Garching, FRG) for performing capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and their valuable help in the identification of cutin and suberin constituents. The work was supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Unterricht, Kultus, Wissenschaft und Kunst.     

Seasonal effect on tissue culture response and plant regeneration frequency from non-bombarded and bombarded immature scutella of barley (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hordeum vulgare</Emphasis>) harvested from controlled environment

Scutella of immature embryos from two barley cultivars were used for cell culture and transformation. Explants were supplied by continuous growth of donor plants in a 2-week schedule under defined conditions at first plants were grown for 6–7 weeks in a growth chamber, followed by 10–13 weeks in a greenhouse with stringent control of temperature and light round the year. Strong seasonal variation in plant regeneration frequency was observed for both genotypes in non-bombarded (control) as well as bombarded and subsequent selected explants. Scutella from immature embryos of cv. Salome showed increased frequencies of plant regeneration from January to March, reaching highest values in March/April and followed by a continuous and strong decrease from May to December. This tendency was observed in all 3 years studied, although absolute numbers of plant regeneration varied between the years. The same seasonal effect was evident for plant regeneration from immature scutella of cv. Golden Promise. Frequency of embryogenic callus formation was also found to be influenced by season but this effect was not so pronounced as for plant regeneration.     

The Combined Effects of Pre- and Post-Insemination Sexual Selection on Extreme Variation in Male Body Size

Orb-weaving spiders of the genus Nephila are notable for their sexual size dimorphism, with dwarf males and giant females. However, less well known is the extreme size polymorphism of males that is characteristic of some species. For example, adult male body size in N. edulis varies by an order of magnitude. Previous experiments reveal that male mating behaviour covaries with body size, suggesting the size variation is maintained by opposing pre- and post-insemination sexual selection pressures. Here, we test this idea by allowing males of different sizes to compete directly and simultaneously for access to females. Using the sterile-male technique for paternity assessment, we show that two competing males drawn from the extremes of size variations, split paternity the same way as two males of the same size drawn from the intermediate sizes. The paternity of a large male dropped from 50% to 30% on average if he competed against two instead of one small male. The large male increased his mating frequency when there were more rivals but required a much lower total duration of copulation to achieve the same paternity share. These data are consistent with the idea that opposing pre- and post-insemination selection pressures at least partly explain the variation in male body size. Co-ordinating editor: L.D. Hurst